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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Balkans, Greece, Turkey, the Levant, Egypt, the Caucasus, Iran and Central Asia

White brined cheese family (Feta PDO as template)Φέτα

Milk is set with rennet and the curd drains in moulds by its own weight. The blocks are salted dry and then kept under brine, first warm and then cold, for at least two months, which gives a white, salty, eyeless cheese. Made in 5 steps over 2.6 months. The longest step, mature cold under brine, takes at least 2 months (EU registration summary) and runs at 2–4 °C (EU registration summary). Salt is 2.5 % (Thodis P 2023). Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and subsp. cremoris and Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 2 monthsSet[feta-eu]Mature cold under brine
Temperature2–4 °CSet[feta-eu][thodis2023]Mature cold under brine
Salt2.5 %Reported[thodis2023]Salt the surface dry
AciditypH 4.9 → 4.34Measured[thodis2023]Mature cold under brine
Fully documentedCheese2.6 months

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceFamily template, so the ingredients are the ones white brined cheeses share. The amounts are the Feta PDO brine strength and one study's dry-salt dose for barrel feta.
Sheep milk, or sheep and goat milk · Feta PDO: goat milk at most 30 % of the milk[feta-eu]
Starter culture · Lactococci, Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus in one study make[thodis2023]
Rennet · Kid and lamb rennet in one study make[thodis2023]
25 g per kg of cheeseDry salt · For barrel feta in one study make[thodis2023][feta-eu]
7 % NaClBrine · Feta PDO brine strength[feta-eu]
Starterdefined lactic culture (lactococci with yogurt bacteria) or traditional raw-milk flora

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.6 months

Start
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32–35 °Cshapes, not to countLactococcus lactisS. thermophilusL. delbrueckii

What changes: Starter and rennet go into the milk and it sets to a gel

Step 1 of 5
Set the milk with rennet
Time
40–50 min
Reported
Temperature
32–35 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactococcus lactis
S. thermophilus
L. delbrueckii
Moulds
Lactic acid bacteria

Output: curd.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
gel
Colour
white

Microbes at work in this step

the starter begins souring the milk

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

The cheese ripens and is sold under brine, so it never forms a rind. Feta PDO fixes the milk (sheep, with up to 30 % goat), a 7 % brine and two months of ripening. Domiati is the odd one out in the family, because salt goes into the milk before renneting.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Bulgarian sireneCow, sheep, goat or buffalo milk; ripened in brine.
  • Turkish beyaz peynirSheep, goat or cow milk; often ripened in tins.
  • Telemea (Romania)Cow, sheep or buffalo milk; some with nigella seeds.
  • Domiati (Egypt)Salt added to the milk before coagulation; cow or buffalo milk.
  • Imeruli (Georgia)Briefly brined curd; the base for sulguni.

Made the white brined cheese family way

Safety

The UK NHS lists pasteurised feta as safe in pregnancy and advises eating unpasteurised soft cheeses only when cooked until steaming hot, because of Listeria. Brining lowers the pH of feta from about 4.9 to 4.3 over 100 days in one study.

Hazards the sources name: Listeria monocytogenes in soft cheese made from unpasteurised milk.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The Feta PDO summary says the cheese has been made in Greece since ancient times.

  1. [feta-eu] EU registration summary, Feta PDO, after Greek Ministerial Decision 313025/11.1.94, eAmbrosia attachment 73143spec
  2. [thodis2023] Thodis P., Kosma I.S., Nesseris K., Badeka A.V., Kontominas M.G. 2023, Evaluation of a new bulk packaging container for the ripening of Feta cheese, Foods 12:2176paper
  3. [ied2019] Institute of Entrepreneurship Development (iED) 2019, Production of traditional cheeses, the feta cheese (IFCHEESE project update)web
  4. [fao-ramet2001] Ramet J.P. 2001, The technology of making cheese from camel milk (Camelus dromedarius), FAO Animal Production and Health Paper 113, chapter on brine-cured cheese methodsbook
  5. [nhs-preg] NHS (UK), Foods to avoid in pregnancy (cheese section)gov